Land snails of North America

Garlic glass snail (Oxychilus alliarius) This is a true glass snail that is a very common species of land snails in North America. They are often found under rotten logs on warm and sunny days. They make a very good pet, but you never should touch a land snail with dry hands, as it could damage their skin. The shell has 4-6 whorls. The snail is usually blue, and sometimes may appear purple, while the shell is orange, yellow, or gold.

Glossy pillar (Cochlicopa lubrica) Another tiny species of land snails in North America. It feeds mainly on dead plants. The shell is usually a dark orange color, while the animal is a dark blue color. They are often found in muddy areas, residential areas, muddy, wet leaf litter, and surprisingly, they are rarely found in forests. This species when only slightly disturbed, they will completely tuck into their shell, and only after a while they will come out, which makes them hard to film/photograph.

Lined tree snail (drymaeus multilineatus) This is a fairly commom species of tree snails in Southwest Florida. It has a white shell with multiple brown stripes across its shell. This is the only color morph of this tree snail. The animal is usually, white, yellow, or cream, with cream being the most common one. The habitats of this snail are only trees, (hence the name) which is were they live most of their lives and eat food.

White-lip globe snail (Mesodon thyroidus) This is a landsnail native to the U.S, and Canada. It is usually brown, sometimes with tints of pink or blue but sometimes displays pink, brown, or blue bands. After the snail dies, the shell fades into white. The color of the animal itself is usually cream, or dark blue. The juveniles usually displays many patterns on their shell. The shells are very common in areas around the great lakes. It also very fun to collect these shells and see if you find a cool color morph!

Common Amber Snail (Succinea putris) This is a common species of Amber snails. It can be found in Europe, but is native also to North America as well as Europe. The shell is usually orange, or yellow, while the animal is cream. This snail is usually found next to ponds. It is also targeted by snail parasites. Its habitat is usually next to ponds, marshes and other very wet areas. Fun fact: The snail can't actually fully re-tract into its shell.

Slender amber snail (Oxyloma elegans) This is a very common species that can be found near ponds, marshes,or sometimes even on floating logs! They are a very active species which makes them a really cool pet to observe. The shell appears to have patterns on it, right? Well actually thats because of the snail inside which slightly changes the color of the shell! The snail itself is usually cream/yellow. These snails are often a target of Distomes, a parasitic worm which takes over the brain, and controls the snail. Like the common amber snail, it can't fully re-tract into it's shell.

Florida tree snail (Liguus fasciatus) This is one of the prettiest land snails in North America. Unfortunately, it is critically endangered because of habitat loss, and now it can be only found in the Everglades national park. It has many cool color forms,, like yellow, brown, etc. It also displays many series of bands. If you want to collect these, sorry... it is prohibited to collect these snails, you can collect the shells though, but they are really rare.

Moss snail (Lauria cylindracea) This is a tiny terrestrial species of land snails that can be found in North America, as the shell gets up to only 4 millimeters in height. The shell is usually a brown/reddish color, while the snail's body is white and blue, sometimes purple. It actually doesn't lay eggs! Instead they have the ability to produce living snails. How weird. These snails are not that active during the day, which makes them tough to film. Like most other terrestrial mollusks, they are more active at night. When the snail dies, the shell fades to white.